Vanderbilt has been a surprisingly tough out for the Gators in recent years. Rebounding from a difficult loss to Georgia, the Gators will have to put that one in the rearview mirror and be completely dialed in if they are to cover the 26.5 point spread. I’m interested to see how this team responds to coming up short in their SEC Championship goals. They’ve faced a ton of adversity this season so they should be able to roll with it. Gators win, 39-14.

Even coming off of a loss to the Dawgs, the Gators have a lot to be thankful for. After an uncharacteristically bad showing in Jacksonville, the Gators only dropped to Georgia’s near-flawless performance by seven points. Mullen is absolutely frustrated with the little mistakes that ultimately lost Florida the football game in Jacksonville last Saturday. However, come Saturday, unfortunately for Vanderbilt, Mullen will likely take out all of those frustrations against the Commodores. Although they don’t really have anything to prove, Mullen will feel that his Gators need to show just how uncharacteristic last Saturday’s performance was. I expect the Gators’ offense to blow the nonexistent roof off of The Swamp. It’ll be electric, despite a lackluster opponent. Grantham’s defense will also have a chip on their shoulder. Ke’Shawn Vaughn, while a good back, will have a rough outing in Gainesville on Friday. Not to mention Vandy’s quarterback position is everything but stable. Gators win big back home, 43-13.

After a rather disappointing performance in Jacksonville, the Gators return to Gainesville to take on Vanderbilt, who is 2-6 on the season. I would say this is a good game for the Gators to rebound and get back into the win column. Their playoff hopes may be gone, but Florida still has a chance at another New Year’s Six Bowl game. I am taking Florida 52-12 in this one.

My prediction doesn’t have as much to do with how good No. 10 Florida is as it does how bad Vanderbilt is.

The Commodores are 115th in total offense (317.1 yards per game) and 114th in total defense (453.6 yards allowed per game). That massive differential (136.5) is the third worst in the FBS behind only Rutgers and UMass (which gives up an eye-popping 572.2 yards per game).

Thanks to its inability to stop opposing offenses and move the ball when it has it, Vandy is 123rd in scoring offense (17.0 points per game) and 124th in first downs per game (16.4).

Needless to say, if the Gators lose this game in The Swamp, it will be a contender for upset of the season.

However, the Commodores have played a little in November, defeating Missouri 21-14 two weeks ago before losing to South Carolina 24-7 last week. So with that, I say they make a run at covering the 26.5 point spread.